Features

Comedian Jon Reep will be the featured headliner in the first “Stand Up For Charity,” a fundraiser sponsored by the Shallotte Junior Women’s Club set for this Saturday, Jan. 3, at Odell Williamson Auditorium at Brunswick Community College.

Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Reep, originally from Hickory, is the 2007 winner of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and is also known as “the Hemi guy” in the Dodge commercials.

The show will also feature two opening acts—Brad Reeder and Brooklin Green.

What began as a senior project for West Brunswick High School seniors Ainsley Wood and Meredith Cox turned into a life-changing experience for an autistic 9-year-old boy and his family.

Wood and Cox each began their projects with a different subject area of research—Wood focused on autism and Cox on the therapeutic benefits of horseback riding.

“I thought it’d be interesting to know about [autism],” Wood said.

It’s that time of year when you are most likely to be hosting a party with friends or family.

Make that gathering a little more festive and special by extending the holiday spirit to the drinks and refreshments you offer your guests.

Here is what you need to prepare some of the more popular traditional holiday cheer and a few more.

Wassail Bowl

Drinking Wassail is an age-old winter custom. It is drunk at Christmastime, New Year’s and the 12th Night.

Camellias bloom late fall, winter and early spring when few other plants do and have beguiled southern landscapes for more than 100 years. Camellias are usually thought of as a southern plant; they have been adapted to extend as far north as Long Island, N.Y. They can generally withstand winter temperatures as low as 10 degrees; they can be grown anywhere if you protect them and keep the roots from freezing. Camellias are shallow rooted, like the shade, and do the best in loose, fertile soil that is slightly acid. They do not like poor drainage.

Christmas arrives in a flurry of anticipation and dashed expectations. Weeks of hype, whispered hopes and circled desires swiftly end in a heap of torn paper and crushed bows.

Gifts hoped for were not received. Unexpected presents did not always match desires.

Children, overwhelmed by the abundance of toys, cannot express their gratitude in the face of such bounty. Despite our best efforts to ignore the feeling, I think we all sense the death found in birth, the cross that shadows Christmas.

Holiday events continue in coming days in Brunswick County and the surrounding area, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. The schedule includes:

•Nights of a Thousand Candles, 3-10 p.m. Dec. 18, 19, 20, Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, S.C. Thousands of lights sparkle from live oak trees and illuminate garden paths as musicians perform, carolers sing and visitors experience the enchantment. Non-member tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for ages 6-12. (843) 235-6000 or 1-800-849-1931; www.brookgreen.org.

Who invented meatloaf, why and when? Food historians tell us from ancient times to the present cooks have been mixing ground meat with minced bread/rice/vegetables, spices, thickeners and serving them with sauce. But for what reasons?

My best guesses are 1) to distribute meat to more people (protein economy); 2) to conserve resources (use it up, don’t throw it out); and 3) to make tough meat more palatable (aid digestion).

It is a wonderful thing for a gardener to find an exotic and interesting plant that is easy to cultivate. Pitcher plants are a rare and unusual carnivorous plant that are easy to incorporate into the garden and are especially amenable to container planting; however, their cultural needs differ from most plants, and it is necessary to understand the lifestyle of pitcher plants so you can give them a proper home in your garden.

More yuletide events will light up the season in coming days in Brunswick County and the surrounding area. Activities slated in coming days include:

•“A Holiday Tribute to the Nightmare Before Christmas,” 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, and Friday, Dec. 12, at West Brunswick High School theater and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, at New Beginnings Community Church, 730 Whiteville Road. Admission is $5 and $3 with two non-perishable food items.